The present disclosure relates to a new and distinct cultivar of blanket flower, an herbaceous perennial that is grown for use as an ornamental landscape and container plant. The plant is known botanically as Gaillardia×grandiflora and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘Sunset Snappy’. Gaillardia is in the family Compositae, under which the commonly referred to “flower” is actually the inflorescence, and made up of smaller ray florets and disc florets. The ray florets themselves have the appearance of “petals”.
‘Sunset Snappy’ originated and was selected from a large population of hybrid seedlings from a Gaillardia breeding program, which was started in 2006. The breeding program was conducted in a greenhouse nursery in West Sussex, United Kingdom. The aims of the breeding program are to produce novel combinations of flower colors and flower forms, which are borne on well-branched plants with sturdy growth habits. Controlled hybridization was carried out using combinations of selected named varieties and selected unnamed and unreleased seedlings retained from previous breeding cycles.
‘Sunset Snappy’ was selected in 2009 for its large flowers, comprised of a single row of purple-pink colored flat ray florets whose tips are cream-yellow in color. Flowers are produced from spring until fall and do not fade with age. ‘Sunset Snappy’ was also selected for its high bud count and uniform dome-shaped canopy of flowers.
The hybridization which led to the selection of ‘Sunset Snappy’ was carried out during 2008 using a proprietary unreleased seedling known as ‘G722-1’ (unpatented) as the male parent and a proprietary unreleased seedling known as ‘G716-1’ (unpatented) as the female parent.
Sunset Snappy’ was first asexually propagated in September 2009 in a greenhouse in West Sussex, United Kingdom using shoot cuttings taken from lateral branches. ‘Sunset Snappy’ has been found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.